Nutritional properties of a fraction separated from heated safflower oil
Ahlström, A.; Järvinen, R.; Packalén, L.; Mäkinen, E.
Medical Biology 52(5): 343-349
1974
ISSN/ISBN: 0302-2137 PMID: 4427466 Document Number: 70737
Group of 10 male weanling Sprague Dawley rats were fed for 8 weeks on diets without or with 1, 2, 4 or 8% of a non-distillable residue obtained in about 30% yield from safflower oil heated in air at 200 deg C for 20 h. The residue was believed to contain polymerized triglycerides with a smaller proportion of unsaturated acids, although its properties did not differ much from those of fresh oil, apart from increases in acid, hydroxyl and saponification values. Rats given 1, 2 or 4% oil fraction grew faster and had better food utilization than those on the control diet, but the group given 8% oil fraction ate less and their growth was retarded relative to the controls. The amount of total liver lipids was only slightly reduced at the 8% treatment level, but liver cholesterol was lower than the controls in all the experimental groups, whereas serum cholesterol was highest in the group given 8% oil fraction and total serum lipids decreased progressively with increasing amounts of oil fraction in the diet. Serum alkaline phosphatase activity increased with increasing treatment levels, but serum glutamic oxaloacetic and glutamic pyruvic transaminases were unaffected. The findings indicate that daily intake of heated oil fraction of 2.3 g/kg body weight (4% dietary level) produced no harmful effect in rats and that the consumption of 400 to 500 g heated oil daily is unlikely to be toxic for human subjects.